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James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award

The James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award is awarded annually and is the highest honor for graduate students at Chapman University. It is awarded to one Doctoral student and one Master's student each academic year. The Doti Award trophy, incorporating artist Nick Hernandez's sculpture Emergence, remains on perpetual exhibit in Argyros Forum. The trophy is engraved with the names of all Doti Award recipients and is displayed at Commencement..

The recipients of the Doti Award receive an award in the amount of $1,000 and a replica of the Emergence sculpture, crafted by the artist himself. The recipients are publicly recognized at their schools' graduation ceremonies.

Dr. Kimiya Sohram Maghazi received a Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in disabilities studies. In addition to being an outstanding student, she taught a number of undergraduate courses, delivered presentations at numerous national and international conferences, and published several journal articles. She was also active in her local community, working with faith-based organizations on including individuals with disabilities and their families. Dr. Maghazi’s dissertation, “The Dance of Motherhood: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Iranian-American Mothers Raising Individuals with Dis/abilities,” brings needed attention to the voices of Iranian-American immigrant mothers, using a culturally responsive methodology with feminist, interpretivist, Dis/ability Studies, and DisCrit frameworks. It recently won the “Dissertation of the Year” award from the Disabilities Studies Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association.

Ms. Elisa Kanter is receiving a M.S. degree in Health and Strategic Communication. She has distinguished herself as an exceptional leader, and is the most published and accomplished scholar of any student in the program’s history. Ms. Kanter demonstrated her ability to join research and practice seamlessly in her capstone study of the illness of individuals with chronic illness to evaluate social support messages found in online support groups. Based on her findings from an initial online quantitative study, Elisa developed a mobile application that provides for easier navigation of online information about chronic illness support groups.

Dr. Kevin Stockbridge received a Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in culture and curricular studies. His nomination from the College of Educational Studies states that “the faculty and students consider him a philosopher, leader, problem solver, innovator and a deeply reflective and caring educator.” Dr. Stockbridge’s dissertation asked profound questions. His provocative study promises to make a significate impact in theory and his action research model has already made an impact in practice. The brilliance of Dr. Stockbridge’s scholarly work and critical literacy, and his critique of conditions of marginalization are directly linked to his keen understanding of critical consciousness and its potential to transform the world. Dr. Stockbridge is destined to be one of education’s leading social justice scholars and practitioners throughout the country and beyond.

Ms. Ramina Nabiee is receiving a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her nomination from the School of Pharmacy states that “she will have continued success in her research and will continue to make important contributions to the biomedical field.” Ms. Nabiee is described as being a dedicated graduate student in teaching, research, and service, and she has demonstrated unmatched leadership skills. She served as the Executive Vice Chair of the Chapman University Graduate Student Council and as a graduate student representative for the School of Pharmacy. Ms. Nabiee’s research focuses on exploring the role of a newly identified protein in cancer cell survival. She has achieved great results in her research, and has delivered presentations at several conferences, and provided data for two manuscripts thus far.

Dr. Ahmed Younis received a Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in leadership studies. His nomination from the College of Educational Studies states, “The faculty and students consider him a leader, problem solver, innovator and a deeply reflective and caring educator.” Dr. Younis’s research focuses on the pedagogy of raising critical consciousness as a component of the development of Muslim American identity. In addition to teaching, developing courses, and giving talks at Chapman, he strives to develop a critical commons by addressing many audiences though public television, TED talks, educational conferences, and political summits both locally and internationally. Dr. Younis has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world and has served as a Citizen Diplomat on behalf of the State Department for both the Bush and Obama Administrations.

Ms. Julia Walton is receiving a dual Master of Arts in English and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Ms. Walton is described as “a first-rate student and a fine writer.” She has recently successfully sold her first young adult novel Words on Bathroom Walls to Random House for publication in Spring 2017 and has been offered a contract for a second young adult novel to be published by Random House in Spring 2018. Her nomination from the Department of English states, “Her success is an inspiration… absolute evidence that talent, hard work, and perseverance can ultimately pay off for the aspiring writer.” Ms. Walton is also the author of an interactive children’s book, Lucy Grace: ROTTEN; a contributor to Nanoism, an online publication for twitter-fiction; and a writer for Kayu Media.

Dr. Nicol R. Howard received a Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in cultural and curricular studies. Her nomination from the College of Educational Studies stated, “She has demonstrated a consistent history of caring and service, along with an indefatigable and vibrant search for knowledge and the advancement of research to benefit children.” Dr. Howard’s research has recently focused on the predictability of STEM achievement in algebra for female high school students utilizing parent involvement. She has also written several articles focused on effective technology use in the classroom. In addition to teaching and developing courses at Chapman, Dr. Howard has been working in the public school system for the past eight years, and currently teaches in the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Mr. Rene Israel German is receiving a Master of Science in computational and data science. His nomination from Schmid College of Science and Technology stated, “To those of us in the Schmid College that have gotten to know him since he arrived at Chapman over 12 years ago, Rene is more than just an outstanding student. He is a talented teacher, genuine mentor, and a dependable colleague.” He currently works in Chapman’s Machine Learning and Assistive Technology Lab, where he tackles research problems in autism and ABA therapy. Mr. German is an adjunct professor at Chapman and has served as Senior Software Engineer for Core Logic. Recently, he became Lead Software Engineer for grandPad, Inc.

Mr. Ryan McGill is receiving a Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in school psychology. Ryan has demonstrated a consistent history of caring and service, along with an indefatigable and vibrant search for knowledge and the advancement of research to benefit children. He has written several scholarly works, has made over 20 presentations throughout the U.S., serves on two professional journal editorial boards, and mentors students as they learn to publish and present their own works. He has taught advanced courses at Chapman and La Sierra University. Recently, he accepted a full-time faculty position at Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas.

Mr. Thomas Cottam is receiving a Master of Arts in international studies with particular interests in national security and U.S.-China relations. In addition to his outstanding academic achievements, Tom is the model of global citizenship that is central to Chapman’s mission. His commitment to understanding cross-cultural interactions has inspired him to live and work in Scotland, to teach English in China, and to enlist in the U.S. Army as an intelligence analyst. Mr. Cottam served 15 months in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is a member of Sigma Iota Rho honors society for international studies.